Stinky plant blooms outside of greenhouse

One of four rare Devil's Tongue plants owned by Thad Mosely, owner of Premier Florals & Gifts in Loma Linda, has bloomed. Three more plants are expected to bloom by the weekend. (Photo by Rick Sforza/Redlands Daily Facts)

One of four rare Devil's Tongue plants owned by Thad Mosely, owner of Premier Florals & Gifts in Loma Linda, has bloomed. Three more plants are expected to bloom by the weekend. (Photo by Rick Sforza/Redlands Daily Facts)

LOMA LINDA>> Thad Mosely is proud of his rare and stinky flower.

That’s because the Loma Linda-based florist has succeeded in getting a rare species of aroid plant to bloom outdoors, without the use of a greenhouse.

“It’s compared to rotting horse flesh, but really it smells like a dead rat. It smells horrible,” he said.

The plant, scientifically known as Amorphophallus konjac and commonly referred to as devil’s tongue, voodoo lily, dragon plant, snake plant and elephant yam, is native to the subtropical to tropical climate of eastern Asia.

It is related to the corpse flower.

The first of Mosely’s four plants started blooming on Wednesday and the three others are near bloom, which Mosely expects will happen by the weekend.

Mosely, owner of Premier Floral and Gifts in Loma Linda, believes he beat a British public garden, which was reported last week to have successfully brought one 23.6-inch blossom to maturity outdoors.

Mosely’s tallest bloom measures about 37-inches high.

The plant blooms once in its 7-year life cycle, then dies.

Mosely’s blooms come after 10 years, he said.

The plant is known for the unpleasant smell of its flowers, which attract pollinating insects and flies.

He said he reached out to numerous news agencies, but since it was April Fool’s Day, he was rejected under the assumption it was a prank.

So, he took all four of his plants to the Redlands Daily Facts.

Mosely said he started growing the plants as a hobby after he saw the corpse flower on display at Huntington Botanical Gardens.

He acquired the original tubers in 2004 from Kirk Pamper, from the American Institute of Floral Designers and Terry Hernstrom, former landscape provider for the historic Kimberly Crest mansion in Redlands.

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Mosely said he believes this is the first time four separate plants of the same species have ever bloomed simultaneously outside a greenhouse in Southern California.